1. The Foreign Ministry will host a seminar on “non-tariff measures (NTMs)” in Seoul on December 1 and 2. The forthcoming seminar, the first of its kind to take place as part of the projects for capacity-building for regional economic integration, was proposed by the Republic of Korea and approved at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting held in Beijing in November.

◦ The “projects for capacity-building for regional economic integration” have been conducted since 2012 to narrow the gap between the developed and developing economies of APEC in their FTA-related capabilities in order to realize the Free Tree Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). Annex A accompanying the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting Declaration -- “The Beijing Roadmap for APEC's Contribution to the Realization of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP)” -- stipulates the capacity building projects as significant projects for the envisioned realization of the FTAAP.

* The planned seminar will cover NTMs which have lately been viewed as one of the biggest obstacles to trade.

2. At the seminar, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs Ahn Chong-ghee of the ROK Foreign Ministry will deliver welcoming remarks. Relevant experts from home and abroad, including international organizations and other APEC member economies, will deliver presentations and engage in discussions on APEC discussions on NTMs; norms related to the FTAs in the region; and norms and cases of the World Trade Organization (WTO) involving technical barriers to trade (TBTs) and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures.

3. The ROK government, by implementing the “projects for capacity-building for regional economic integration,” will actively support efforts of developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region to build FTA-related capabilities and help make progress toward the envisioned economic integration in the region. 


                       Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation